Incidence and predictors of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome in a rural area of Mozambique.

There is limited data on the epidemiology of Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS) in rural sub-Saharan Africa. A prospective observational cohort study was conducted to assess the incidence, clinical characteristics, outcome and predictors of IRIS in rural Mozambique

Flocculation and dispersion behaviour of two kaolinitic soil clays as affected by organic matter and iron oxides

The effects of removal of organic matter, crystalline Fe oxides and amorphous Fe oxides on the flocculation and dispersion behaviour of two kaolinitic soil clays were measured. The critical coagulation concentrations (CCCs) of dilute suspension (0.01-0.26 moles m -3) of the kaolinitic soil clays in NaCl solution were determined for (i) untreated clays, (ii) clays treated with H2O2 for the removal of organic matter, (iii) clays treated with dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (DCB) for the removal of crystalline Fe oxides, (iv) clays treated with ammonium oxalate for the removal of amorphous Fe oxides and (v) clays treated successively with H2O2/DCB/oxalate for the removal of organic matter, crystalline Fe oxides and amorphous Fe oxides. The treatment for the removal of organic matter decreased the CCC values, implying a decrease in clay dispersivity. This indicated that dissolved organic matter enhanced clay dispersion. The removal of crystalline Fe oxides increased the CCC values, indicating an increase in the clay dispersivity. This showed that crystalline Fe oxides were important in stabilizing the structure of the soils studied. The amorphous Fe oxides, however, did not play a stabilizing role. The clays whose crystalline Fe oxides, amorphous Fe oxides and organic matter were successively removed were the most flocculated and therefore had the lowest CCC values. JOURNAL OF THE GHANA SCIENCE ASSOCIATION Volume 2 No. 2 (2000) pp. 107-11

Species-Specific Analysis of Bacterial Vaginosis-Associated Bacteria

ABSTRACT Vaginal dysbiosis in women reduces the abundance of Lactobacillus species and increases that of anaerobic fastidious bacteria. This dysbiotic condition in the vagina, called bacterial vaginosis (BV), can be symptomatic with odorous vaginal discharges or asymptomatic and affects a third of women of reproductive age. Three unclassified bacterial species designated BV-associated bacteria 1, 2, and 3 (BVAB-1, -2, and -3) in 2005 were found to be highly preponderant in the vagina of females with BV. Here, we used sequence homology and phylogenetics analyses to identify the actual species of BVAB-1, -2, and -3 and found BVAB-1 to be Clostridiales genomosp. BVAB-1, BVAB-2 to be Oscillospiraceae bacterium strain CHIC02, and BVAB-3 to be Mageeibacillus indolicus, respectively. These are anaerobic and uncultured species that can be identified only through metagenomics. Long-read sequencing of BV specimens can also enable a genomic reassembly of these species’ genomes from metagenomes. Species-specific identification of these pathogens and the availability of their genomes from assembled metagenomes will advance our understanding of their biology, facilitate the design of sensitive diagnostics and drugs, and enhance the treatment of BV. IMPORTANCE For many years since 2005, BVAB, an important pathogen of the female vaginal tract that is associated with BV, has been identified using PCR without knowing its actual species. Without a full genome of these pathogens, a better understanding of their pathogenicity, treatment, resistance, and diagnostics cannot be reached. In this analysis, we use the DNA of BVAB-1, -2, and -3 to determine their actual species to enhance further research into their pathogenicity, resistance, diagnosis, and treatment